The island of Antigua was first settled by Amerindians with the earliest settlements dating back to 2900 BC. They were succeeded by a ceramic-using people called the Saladoids who migrated north along the islands from Venezuela. They were replaced by Arawakan speakers around 1200 AD and then by Island Caribs around 1500 AD. The Arawaks were the first group of settlers on the island that we have a detailed history of. They arrived on the islands by canoe from Venezuela and were expelled by the Caribs. They brought with them an understanding of agriculture including corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton. The Caribs were able to defeat them due to their superior weaponry.
The islands were first spotted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. He called the larger of the two islands Santa Maria de la Antigua. (Antigua means ancient) Europeans attempted to settle the islands immediately following Columbus' discovery but failed due to the Caribs' successful defenses. The English finally succeeded in colonizing the islands in 1632, choosing the island of Antigua as the major island. There they raised tobacco, indigo, ginger, and sugarcane as cash crops, bringing much wealth to the islands. They enslaved natives on the islands and used Barbuda as a plantation. Fairly quickly after colonization, the native population on the islands died off quickly due to the European diseases that were brought with the colonists. During the 18th century, the British Navy Caribbean Fleet used Antigua for its headquarters, docking their ships there. The islands remained a dependency of the United Kingdom all the way into the 20th century when, in 1981, they became the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, but are still a part of the Commonwealth of Nations which also includes Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, India, and New Zealand, among many others. Today, Antigua and Barbuda is a wealthy nation with tourism being the main source of income. However, like many other Caribbean nations, Antigua and Barbuda is a popular location for global banking and banks from the United States and Canada have headquarters on the islands.
Culture in Antigua and Barbuda is a combination of native Caribbean and British culture. Because of that, the sports played among its citizens are the same sports as those played in the United Kingdom. This is the case for many Caribbean nations who were colonized by European countries. For Antigua and Barbuda, there aren't a wide variety of sports played. Cricket, football, and track and field are the sports that are played on the islands.
Cricket
- Cricket was first played in Antigua and Barbuda all the way back in the 1890's when European amateur cricket players toured the island of Antigua and played against the locals.
- Antigua and Barbuda played as a member of the British Leeward Islands until 1958, when they became a member of the West Indies Federation, who they played as a part of from 1958 to 1962.
- During this period, they played almost exclusively played in the Leeward Islands Cricket Tournament, although they did play matched against touring teams, including one from New Zealand, one from Kent (in England), and one from Canada
- On the domestic level, the islands competed on a combined Leeward Islands cricket team, beginning in 1958 which further combined with a Windward Islands team as a Combined Islands team from 1965 and 1981.
- From then on, when the islands gained independence, they competed as Antigua and Barbuda
- Traveled to Bermuda in 1984 and played a three-day match against the Bermuda national team
- The national cricket team is currently a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association
- Domestically, they still represent the Leeward Islands cricket team and will represent the West Indies team at the international level
- Internationally, they made their debut at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and its Twenty20 debut at the 2006 Stanford 20/20 tournament
- Up to 2015, the national team had played 14 List A matches and 4 Twenty20 matches
- The West Indies played host to the 2007 Cricket World Cup and Antigua hosted six matches at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
Sir Vivian Richard Stadium - So far, the Antigua and Barbuda national team hasn't won any matches, although the West Indies team has had much success, including being ranked first in the world at various points in all three forms of the sport
Football
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| National Team |
International Team
- First established and became affiliated with FIFA and CONCACAF in 1970
- First match was played against Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain in 1972 during the 1974 World Cup qualifications
- Caribbean Cup
- First qualified for the tournament in 1992
- At the 1998 tournament, Antigua and Barbuda reached the semifinals after beating Grenada and Anguilla and drawing against Guyana, winning their group in the qualifications. In the group stage, they lost to Trinidad and Tobago, beat Dominica and Martinique, earning second place in their group and advancing to the knockout phase. They lost to tournament favorite, Jamaica, 1-0 in extra time and lost to Haiti 3-2 in the third place match. This was the furthest they have made it in the tournament.
- They did not qualify from 1999 to 2007, qualified but lost in the group stage every tournament between 2008 and 2014, and have failed to qualify for the 2017 tournament.
- World Cup
- They have failed to qualify for the World Cup but made it far in CONCACAF qualifying in 2014. That year they advanced all the way to the third round of qualifications, winning five matches and losing six.
Domestic Competitions
- Antigua and Barbuda had a domestic team, Antigua Barracuda FC,based in St. John's, the capital, from 2010-2014
- They played in the USL Pro, the third tier of professional soccer in the United States. The league also had three teams located in Puerto Rico and there appeared to be a major focus on expanding professional soccer into the Caribbean in this league.
- Team folded because there was a lack of funding, making it difficult for the club to stay afloat and because they had no regular venue to play at, playing their home matches at the Stanford Cricket Ground
Athletics
- Have had a strong of history in athletics, including track and field
- They have had athletes make it to the Summer Olympics, including Sonia Williams in the 4 x 100 m relay and 100 m dash events
- Heather Samuel has also had success, qualifying for the Olympics in the 100 m and 200 m events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Sports in Antigua and Barbuda do not have the same struggles that African or Middle East nations face. They do not have a financial shortfall and they don't face issues with terrorism and crime. The island nation's only real issue is its size, which severely limits its possibilities in expanding their sports internationally.
References
- http://www.topendsports.com/world/countries/antigua-barbuda.htm
- http://www.antiguanice.com/v2/thingstodo.php?cat=21
- http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/Agact01.htm#cricket
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